Managed Care - August 2008 - (Page 26) monitor its childhood obesity grants and program effectiveness. Another evaluator is Philliber Research Associates in Accord, N.Y., which conducted an evaluation of the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Initiative for the California Wellness Foundation. Still, “In most cases, what the foundations do to determine how successful their programs are is not as rigorous as it should be,” gripes Dorfman of the Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. A flurry of foundations formed in the 1980s and 1990s, but few in recent years. “The conversion phenomenon has slowed,” says Fishman, the Pace University law professor. Much of that has to do with more intense attention to conversions by regulators, providers, and consumers. “Before this became a phenomenon, conversions took place with little outside attention,” explains LeRoy, president of Grantmakers in Health. “This sometimes led to the undervaluation of assets. That’s when Consumers Union and Community Catalyst got involved.” Spurred by the these consumer groups, many states passed legislation allowing greater oversight, requiring public hearings, mandating fair market valuation and enhancing the authority of the attorney general. Did you miss? Donald M. Berwick Paul Ginsburg Newt Gingrich Alain Enthoven George J. Isham Howard Dean David M. Lawrence Paul Ellwood Gail R. Wilensky Richard D. Lamm William Gold Lee N. Newcomer Jonathan T. Lord J.D. Kleinke Helen Darling Richard L. Hamer Thomas Scully Suzanne F Delbanco . Alan T. Wright Regina E. Herzlinger Peter Lee Kathleen Montgomery Robert L.Weinmann Becky J. Cherney We don’t run our Question and Answer feature every month. That’s because we don’t talk to just anybody. Happy ending Do foundations generate more in community benefits than not-for-profit health plans can provide through low cost insurance to the uninsurable? Gary Mendoza thinks so. Mendoza served as California’s commissioner of corporations during the 1996 transfer of assets from Blue Cross of California into the California Endowment and California HealthCare foundations. “Foundations have more freedom and flexibility to fill in the gaps in health care than not-for-profit plans,” he says. “Plans can’t really do much charitable work because it undercuts their financial viability and puts them at a competitive disadvantage.” Dorman of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy adds, “Consumers did not get a raw deal when foundations formed because the entities as not-for-profits were not necessarily delivering much more community benefit than they are as for-profits. In cases where the conversion foundation is well run, there has been a net benefit for communities.” MC Read these interviews at www.managedcaremag.com Care M A N A G E D Just search for the subject’s last name. All of our past articles are free on the web. 26 MANAGED CARE / AUGUST 2008 http://www.managedcaremag.com http://www.managedcaremag.com
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